College basketball features potential NCAA Tournament match-ups almost every evening for six days as ‘Feast Week’ brings the sport back into the spotlight.
I have covered the game, in general, since the early 1990s and when I moved to the Sunshine State in 2018, being part of roundball during the week of Thanksgiving, which is now one of my favorite calendars on the sports globe.
I start out by covering the Fort Myers Tip-off at Florida Southwestern State and find times to attend games in the Gulf Coast Showcase which is at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla. By Thursday, it’s a trip to Kissimmee where the State Farm Field House hosts the ESPN Events Invitational at wonderful Walt Disneyworld.
I saw 19 games in the past seven days as I am currently back in the Tampa Bay Area after surviving the horrific traffic accident on Feb. 4, 2022, that many of you heard about.
The following is my rating of the top 10 games that I attended in the past week.
1) No. 19 Florida Atlantic 96, No. 12 Texas A&M 89 – ESPN Events Invitational – One of Friday’s semifinals in the winners’ bracket saw the FAU Owls revert back to their Final Four run of a year ago. In addition, it was the lone Top 25 matchup of the week at any of the locations.
FAU netted 16-of-30 three-point field goals behind the shooting of guards Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin to pass Texas A&M, 96-89.
Potentially, Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor may have had the top game that I saw this week as he finished with 35 points, placing the Aggies in position to win the game. He had a myriad of baskets and free throws throughout the second half that kept A&M within striking distance.
FAU was 7-of-8 from the line inside of two minutes to propel the win with Davis finishing with 26 points and Martin netting 25.
2) No. 12 – Texas A&M 89, Penn State 77 – The Aggies and Nittany Lions kicked off the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday morning as Henry Coleman, IV, led A&M with 24, while Taylor posted 23.
Nick Kern scored on a layup to cut the Texas A&M lead to 63-60 with 7:08 remaining, but Coleman had a pair of conventional threes on the inside before Taylor scored nine of his points to finish the game.
Penn State guard Kanye Clary was tough in the clutch as he accounted for nine points in a row as A&M posted an 80-72 lead with 3:15 to play.
The Aggies scored 23 points off of 12 offensive boards while out-rebounding the Nittany Lions, 33-20.
3) No. 19 Florida Atlantic 84, Virginia Tech 50 – With the enlistment of excellent games, it was on point to stage the best total game by one team.
Try these Owls, once again.
FAU enjoyed an 84-50 devastation of Virginia Tech in the ESPN Events Invitational Finals on Sunday afternoon.
The Owls never trailed in using a huge advantage of versatility and athleticism over the Hokies for the entire 40 minutes.
FAU guard Alijah Martin led four Owls in double figures with 17 points as Florida Atlantic shot 57 percent from the floor and scored 23 points in forcing 14 Virginia Tech turnovers.
FAU led 25-24 with 4:13 to go in the first half and then went on a 19-0 run that extended over into the second half. Center Vladislav Goldin scored six points in the run which was also enabled by back-to-back threes from Johnell Davis and Martin.
Goldin finished with 14 points, while Davis netted 12 points.
Once Martin hit another three to put FAU ahead at 52-35, the Owls hit a 26-6 sprint over 7:25 as Gaffney, Martin and Greenlee hitting triples in the run.
Florida Atlantic’s athleticism overwhelmed the Hokies’ three-point game as they were 0-for-15 from behind the arc until Brandon Rechsteiner hit the first Hokies three with 3:22 to play.
FAU’s Martin took home Tournament MVP honors.
“There were probably four to eight possessions this game on both sides of the basketball where it was simply guys playing off each other,” said FAU head coach Dusty May.
4) Texas A&M 73, Iowa State 69 – The last game in an MTE can be one that everyone wishes they hadn’t missed. People who went home before the 12th and final matchup of the ESPN Events Invitational certainly will acquiesce.
Iowa State exploded on the Aggies and grabbed a 35-14 lead late in the first half behind some consistent offensive play from guard Chris Jones and Milan Momcilovic.
However, Texas A&M closed the half on an 11-0 run behind a pair of threes from Solomon Washington as he cut the Cyclones lead to 35-25 at the break.
A&M leader and star Wade Taylor had been quieted in the first half as he was 0-for-6 with only a pair of free throws.
However, Taylor helped spring the comeback with a three-pointer off of a rebound and a free throw, Then he had a layup in transition off a steal, pulling Texas A&M into a 41-41 tie with 14:20 remaining.
Texas A&M took over down the stretch with Solomon Washington, who led with 18 as he nailed a pair of threes, while Taylor finished with 14.
Iowa State pulled within one point on five occasions before Taylor scored six late points and threw an alley-oop to Washington that gave the Aggies a 70-64 lead and broke the Cyclones into a small breeze on a Florida beach.
Aggies coach Buzz Williams was without his second and third leading scorers in Henry Coleman and Tyrese Radford for the second day.
5) Long Beach 80, Iona 76 – Both teams lost in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., but this was an up-tempo contest between two teams that could have potentially won the tournament.
Jadon Jones led ‘The Beach’ with 19 points, while Iden Tretout paced the Gaels with 17.
Tretout hit a jumper with 12:40 remaining to give the Gaels a 58-50 lead: however, The Beach rallied behind the inside play of Lassina Traore, who scored 10 of his 12 points over the next 3:50, but LBSU still trailed, 65-64.
Long Beach scored 21 points off of 18 Iona turnovers and Iona was strong on the offensive glass with 17 points off of 13 offensive boards.
6) SMU 70, West Virginia 56 – The Mustangs took the game over in the second half when they erased a 36-25 Mountaineers’ halftime lead. Chuck Harris scored eight points in a 14-4 run that allowed SMU to cut its deficit to 41-39 with 14:53 remaining in the game.
Ricardo Wright made four three-point field goals in the second half as SMU took its first lead at 42-41 on Wright’s first triple. His fourth three-pointer was from the top of the key and SMU took a 66-54 advantage with 3:40 to play.
West Virginia had no field goals in the last 5:03 of the game as the Mustangs allowed WVU to shoot only 37 percent from the floor.
Guard Zuhric Phelps led coach Rob Lanier’s squad with 17 points, while Syracuse transfer Jessie Edwards led West Virginia with 18.
WVU coach Josh Eilert, who took over the program, was without four potential starters as two were injured and two were suffering through unwarranted eligibility issues.
7) VCU 86, Penn State 74 – The Rams used a solid all-around game with 23 points Alphonzo Billups, III, to take down the Nittany Lions, 86-74, and get a win in the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday morning.
Billups hit back-to-back threes and scored on a layup as VCU pushed its lead to 77-64 with 4:22 remaining in the game.
Rams guard Zeb Jackson netted 22 as VCU shot 54 percent from the floor and outscored Penn State, 36-23, off the bench.
Former VCU Ram and current Nittany Lion Ace Baldwin led all scorers with 27 points as he played the entire 40 minutes and also dished five assists.
8) Florida Atlantic 91, Butler 86 – In an ESPN Events Invitational first-round matchup, the Owls’ opener against the Bulldogs was a bit more of a challenge than maybe was expected.
Butler led 70-66 with 9:20 remaining, but center Vladislav Goldin and guard Johnell Davis combined for nine points to give FAU a 74-70 lead.
Guards Jalen Gaffney and Bryan Greenleaf opened up the game late as they keyed an Owls’ 8-1 run that pushed their lead to 86-78.
FAU scored 17 points off 15 offensive rebounds, while scoring 46 points in the paint.
9) Wisconsin 69, SMU 61 – The Badgers slipped past SMU to win the Fort Myers Tip-off. The Mustangs led, 32-24, at halftime and led until the 3:52 mark when Chucky Hepburn was clutch for Wisconsin.
Hepburn scored nine points in a 15-4 Badgers run as he was key with a pair of threes. AJ Storr and John Blackwell were also keys for the Badgers.
SMU guard Zurich Phelps led all scorers with 19 points as he hit three early triples to give the Mustangs a 15-4 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half.
10) Appalachian State 67, Murray State 57 – Mountaineers guard Donovan Gregory scored 16 points and Appalachian State held the Racers to 38 percent from the floor as they took a 67-57 win in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Two days earlier, the Mountaineers had defeated UNC Wilmington, 86-56, as only three one-bid league teams were able to participate in this side of the bracket.
Defensively, App held Murray State scoreless from the floor over the last 4:02 as they were 7-of-8 from the line and Terrence Harcum nailed a three to close out the win.
The Mountaineers are slated near the top of the Sun Belt Conference with James Madison and Louisiana and they have a talented squad that features plenty of depth and versatility.
